A determined canine unit and officers standing at the perimeter with rifles made it clear there was more going on than a simple traffic investigation Wednesday after a destructive head-on crash on Highway 3.

Four people were in serious or critical condition. Two of those injured people were also in police custody at the hospital as part of a criminal investigation.

“It’s a head-on collision and it looks like a very violent crash,” said Const. Jim Root with Essex County OPP. “A lot of damage to the vehicles, so it’s understandable that anybody in those two vehicles would be seriously injured. I don’t have specifics as far as the injuries but I’ve been told serious to critical injuries for all four parties.”

Ontario Provincial Police officers investigate the scene of a head-on collision on Highway 3 east of Walker Road on April 26, 2017. Four people involved sustained serious injuries and two were arrested.Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

Police, firefighters and paramedics responded to the two-car crash, on a four-lane stretch of Highway 3, around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. It happened under sunny skies and on dry pavement between Walker Road and Sexton Side Road.

Officers found a black Lexus on one side of the highway and a black Volkswagen on the other side. They were both facing the same direction with crumpled front ends and deployed airbags. Crash debris was strewn across the road, some of it soaking in large puddles of spilled vehicle fluids.

There was also a classic blue Ford Mustang inside the crash zone. Police said the driver of that car, which didn’t appear to be damaged, witnessed the collision. Investigators asked him to leave his car where he stopped it so they could get accurate pictures and measurements of the area.

People in each of the cars that collided were trapped. Rescue crews had to extricate them. Police had the highway shut down for much of the day and were diverting traffic at Walker Road and Sexton Side Road. A couple officers were standing watch with rifles at the ready.

Ontario Provincial Police officers investigate the scene of a head-on collision on Highway 3 east of Walker Road on April 26, 2017. Four people involved sustained serious injuries and two were arrested.Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

Root said two men had been riding in the Lexus. A man and a woman were in the Volkswagen. He wouldn’t say which pair was in custody.

But police spent a lot of time zeroed-in on the Lexus. In an unusual turn, a police canine unit was at the crash scene. Investigators had the dog repeatedly sniff its way through and around the Lexus. Officers also meticulously searched the car, pulling apart panels and the trunk interior looking for something.

Police wouldn’t say what they were searching for.

“I can’t expand on anything in relation to the criminal side of things,” said Root.

He said none of the people involved had any interaction with police just prior to the crash. There was also no police pursuit, he said.

A technical traffic investigator was at the crash scene throughout the day looking for clues about what caused the collision.

“I don’t have any information as to who is at fault in the collision at this point,” said Root. “But we’ll determine that. If there are any charges that are pending from that, I’ll give you that at a later time, too.”

Ontario Provincial Police officers investigate the scene of a head-on collision on Highway 3 east of Walker Road on April 26, 2017. Four people involved sustained serious injuries and two were arrested.Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

An Ontario Provincial Police canine officer investigates a car involved in a head-on collision on Highway 3 east of Walker Rd. on April 26, 2017. Four people involved sustained serious injuries and two were arrested.Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

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